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8661 Deer Run Dr. * Victoria 952-443-2351 |
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JOHNSON FUNERAL HOME |
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Waconia 952-442-2121 |
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Leipold’s of Excelsior Gifts. Books. Lamps. 952-474-5880 |
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Metropolitan Ford Jerry Chapman 952-943-9000 |
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Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic. Occupational Therapy. Speech Therapy. 952-443-9888 |
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Victoria’s Corner Bar. Nightly Specials and Menus. 952-443-9944 |
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Buying or Selling Victoria? Call Nan Emmer. 612-702-2020 |
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Specialized assisted living for those with memory challenges. Victoria. 952-908-2215 |
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Weinzierl Jewelers |
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Waconia 952-442-2885 |
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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City Scoop Continued |
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WHAT IF VICTORIA GETS A KATRINA? COUNCILMEMBERS HOPE TO BE PREPARED Councilmembers held a special workshop on December 14th to talk about the city’s preparedness for emergencies. Administrator Don Uram stated, “Waconia and Chanhassen have Emergency Management Plans. The purpose of this workshop is for council to ask general questions. My understanding is that a lack of resources is not necessarily a problem for us. We have Carver County resources, mutual aid with other cities, and we can also call on Hennepin County. Holy Family Catholic High School is designated as a shelter in Victoria.” Said Councilmember Tim Amundsen, “You can’t get very specific in these plans but you can lay out resources. Not many cities have a plan, but we do update ours regularly. The plan we have today is a good start. It’s never going to be finished. It’s always growing. Every year we have to look at it. Things are constantly changing.” Continued Councilmember Amundsen, “All of the firefighters have gone through NIMS (National Incident Management System). I’ve gotten several hours of EMS on the state and national levels. We’ve all gone through the NIMS-type training.” He added, “We’ve all got positions under us, so somebody can step in and make it happen if someone is gone. There are so many resources at the county and state level. It’s amazing how many folks will come out of the woodwork to help us.” Administrator Uram reported that there are a couple of places in Victoria where hazardous materials are stored. “We recommending adopting the county plan on this,” he said, adding, “The county plan is four inches thick.” Asked Councilmember Kim Roden, “What triggers this plan?” “Any emergency,” replied Administrator Uram, including heavy snowstorms and lots of rain. Asked Councilmember Roden, “This doesn’t correspond to Homestead Security colors?” “Our plan is not set up like that,” said Administrator Uram. “What if telephone or cell phones collapse?” asked Kim. Victoria Fire Chief Tim Walsh replied, “The 800-megahertz system works well. That system is amazing! It has the capability to contact cell phones, but works best from one 800-system to another 800-system.” Commented Councilmember Jim Paulsen, “It seems this doesn’t reach down to the citizen level, to ensure that we have qualified citizen observers. We also know our generators are in Edina, which doesn’t help us here. We want a community of influences that have knowledge. If we can be specific, the fastest with most credibility, we get the fastest service.” Councilmember Roden mentioned that Fed Ex and Walmart were priority citizen-level locations during Katrina down in Louisiana. “I was fascinated by that,” she said. “They were the first points of contact for that emergency, not government agencies. I was educated about the role of the private sector in that.” It was pointed out necessities such as bottled water and other goods, as well as over the ground communication, steered people to local businesses. Stated Councilmember Paulsen, “I haven’t seen a Target store built lately without a generator in back. We’ve been warned how many times about our own power? Outages seems to go in streaks.” “How confident are you that we can keep Victoria citizens safe for a reasonable amount of time, relatively warm and safe for a relatively short amount of time?” asked Mayor Mary Thun. Replied Fire Chief Tim Walsh, “If you’re talking national emergency, there’d be things we probably could do.” Continued Mayor Thun, “Miscommunication and panic are two things that people don’t handle well. We have two schools in Victoria and our students don’t all live in Victoria. Some live down the road in Chaska and other places.” “It’d be interesting to know what the power and gas plans are and what they’re going to do first,” said Councilmember Paulsen. “How do we know where we are on the list when an emergency occurs?” “We may have to fend for ourselves,” replied Administrator Uram. “If I’m out of power for an hour, I think it’s a national tragedy,” stated Mayor Thun. “I should be able to handle it much better. You might be able to teach us quickly.” “Where is the Salvation Army in our system?” asked Councilmember Paulsen? Mayor Thun said she’d like to have answers to more local questions such as, “Where would I rendevouz with my family in case of a catastrophe, and still do my job?”
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January 2010 |
